WHAT'S INCLUDED IN BLUEPRINTS

What’s Included In Your Working Drawings Package?

Each set of working construction drawings that we offer will provide you with the needed information to build your home. Certain adjustments may be required to the house plans before construction begins to meet specific local building codes.

While each set of construction blueprints is unique and can vary by designer, the list below highlights the items that are generally included with each set of construction house plan packages that we offer.

Detailed Floor Plan(s)

A floor plan layout on blueprints is basically an overhead view of each floor of the completed house. You'll see parallel lines that scale at whatever width the walls are required to be. Dimensions are usually drawn between the walls to specify room sizes and wall lengths. You'll also see on the floor plan locations of fixtures like sinks, water heaters, furnaces, etc. Among the walls and dimensions you will often find notes to specify finishes, construction methods, or even symbols for electrical or to reference cross sections. You can expect floor plans to be drawn at 1/4” scale.

Foundation Plan

The foundation plan will depend upon the design selected. Typically, the foundation will be a slab, crawlspace, full basement, or walk-out basement. The basement or foundation plan delineates the location of bearing walls that will support the structure. It also identifies locations of footings, steel (rebar) placement, hurricane strap placement and other structural elements that are required to support the loads of the upper floors.

Exterior Elevations

Elevations are a non-perspective view of the home. These are drawn to scale so that measurements can be taken for any aspect necessary. Plans include front, rear and both side elevations. The elevations specify ridge heights, the positioning of the final grade of the lot, exterior finishes, roof pitches and other details that are necessary to give the home its exterior architectural styling. You can expect elevations to be drawn at 1/4” and 1/8” scale.

Interior Elevations

These may include kitchen and bath elevations to show the arrangement and size of significant cabinets and other significant fixtures in the room. These drawings give basic information that can be used to create customized layouts with a cabinet manufacturer.

Front Perspective

This is an artist's sketch to give you an idea of what the house would look like once built and then landscaped.

Miscellaneous Details

These are included for many interior and exterior conditions that require more specific information for their construction.

Electrical Layout

Electrical layouts are sometimes on a separate page to make reading them a little easier. The layout will show locations of light fixtures, fans, outlets, light switches, etc. There is usually a legend on the page which explains what each symbols represents. There may be such legends for heating systems, door swings and sizes, or even to specify certain finishes.

* The majority of our plans include electrical layout but some do not. Please email or call us if you have a specific question about a particular plan.

Cross Sections and Details

Overhead views or floor plan views of the structure don't always provide enough information as to how the home is to be built. Often, cross section or details will explain certain special conditions more appropriately. A cross section is basically a view of the home if it were sliced down the center. This allows you to view the home from the side and understand a little better the relativity of varying floor heights, rafter lengths, and other structural elements.

These are the basics of what is included in plans, which will vary according to the designer who drew them.

What’s Not Included?

Architectural and engineering stamps.

Location of actual duct work for heating and cooling.

Drawings showing the actual sizes and routing of the plumbing and mechanical systems.